12

Jump Start # 3781

Posted on March 12, 2025 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3781

 

Acts 8:2 “Some devout men buried Stephen, and made loud lamentation over him.”

 

What a week last week was. On Monday, gospel preacher Leon Goff passed away. I loved Leon. On Friday, in the same week, gospel preacher  John McPherson passed away. I knew them both. I had spent wonderful time with both of them. And, in one week, both passed on to the eternal reward that they had so often taught about. Both were great preachers. Both had done incredible good for the kingdom. Both were exceptionally kind in spirit and passionate about God’s word. Both will be greatly missed.

 

Twenty years ago this month I wrote an article for Biblical Insights entitled, “When the Preacher Dies.” Something I rarely do in Jump Starts, I am going to reprint that article here.

 

 When the Preacher Dies

 

“In the past few months I have heard of the death of several gospel preachers. I know of a few other preachers that are battling very serious health issues. Preachers die. We all understand that. The Bible teaches that it is ‘appointed unto man once to die’ (Heb 9:27). That includes preachers. Hearing of many preachers passing away in a short period of time has made me think about “When a preacher dies.”

 

In some ways the death of a gospel preacher is the same as the death of any Christian. A husband, father, grandfather will be dearly missed by his family. Friends will miss his laughter. The congregation will miss a helping hand. This is true when any Christian dies. Heaven gains but earth loses when a Christian dies.

 

The death of a preacher has a deeper effect upon the congregation because of the role he filled. In many, many congregations the relationship between the preacher and the congregation is warm, close and very healthy. The preacher has been to the hospital when there was a sickness. The preacher is the one who married many of the couples in the congregation. He is the one that has baptized so many in the congregation. He is the one who preached the funerals for many family members. He has worked with elders in trying to develop teachers. He has taught Bible classes nearly every quarter of every year. He is the leading force to challenge and encourage the congregation through his preaching. He has counseled. He has been in homes. He has taught Bible classes publicly and privately for years. He has been out many evenings teaching people about Jesus Christ. Sometimes we don’t realize how many times in our lives the preacher has been there. He is a constant, steady voice every week.

 

When the preacher dies, it affects us. Consider a few thoughts:

 

Help the preacher’s family: As hard as it may be for the congregation not to see the preacher in the pulpit, it will be especially hard for his family. Because of economics, jobs, and schools, the family of the preacher often must continue to attend where he preached every week. That will be hard. Some preachers struggle financially. Some have little or no life insurance. The congregation ought to keep that in mind during the stressful time of his death.

 

Be kind to the next preacher. Sooner or later, another preacher will take the place of the one who passed away. Many may not be ready for another preacher. The new preacher will be different in style, personality, and attitude than the former preacher. Don’t compare. It is hard enough to fill the shoes of someone who was so loved and then died. He will do things differently. Give the new preacher a chance. Let him grow on you. Encourage him as he presents the word of God.

 

Be patient in removing the former preacher’s things. Each preacher has his office the way he likes it. There are many personal touches. There are books, articles, pictures, collectables, file cabinets and all the things that help a preacher to study. The grieving family many not know what to do with all the books and things. Don’t rush them to get the things out. Help them as they go through the difficult task of cleaning out his office. Encourage them not to throw away sermons, books and class materials. Younger preachers could be helped by those things. There is no hurry to “get rid” of those wonderful tools. Let the family have time to think about what they want to do.

 

There are so many tears when a preacher dies. I hope these thoughts will help those who are experiencing this and will enlighten the rest of us who haven’t thought much about this.”

Biblical Insights (Vol 5, no. 3, March, 2005).

 

 

I am thankful for such wonderful good servants in the Lord like Leon and John were. There will be many in Heaven because of the great work they did in showing the life of Jesus. Bless their families. Those of us that knew them are better because of that. The Lord allows amazing intersections in the lives of others that help us in so many ways.

 

We all journey to be with our Lord one day. May the seeds we plant today help others who come along after us. I am thankful that our journey never ends. There is no final page to our life’s story. We shall live on and on.

 

Devout men made loud lamentations over Stephen. We lift up our voices in thankfulness to our Lord for such godly men as Leon and John.

 

Thank you, Lord.

 

Roger

 

11

Jump Start # 3780

Posted on March 11, 2025 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3780

Matthew 27:50 “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.”

 

There is a line in the hymn, “My eyes have seen Your glory,” that really caught my attention the other day when we were singing it in worship. It’s a beautiful hymn. In the second verse, “In my heart I crumbled when I watched you die,” has so much meaning. I thought of that from the standpoint of the few who stood at a distance at the cross. They saw the bloodied and beaten Jesus being lifted up. The tortuous image must have made them look away, but they couldn’t keep from looking. Somehow Jesus would get out of this, they must have thought. He always had before. Rocks had been picked up to be thrown at Him, yet He got away from that. An angry crowd pushed Him to a cliff to shove Him over, but He got away. He always got away. He was the Lord.

 

And, as the moments slipped away, surely He’ll come off the cross. He has to come off the cross. The Romans can’t win. These unbelieving Jews can’t win. He’ll show them. He’ll come off the cross and everything will be ok. But, as the minutes passed, He was getting weaker. Nothing was happening. He cries out, “It is finished,” and then He utters, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” His head drops to His chest. His eyes close. There is no movement. We intently stare at His chest, hoping to see it expand with another breath. The chest doesn’t move. There is a stillness. We step closer and we realize that He has died. Jesus has really died. A soldier thrust a spear upward into His side. Blood and water come out. The body didn’t move. He was dead.

 

At that moment, we are filled with confusion, fear and doubt. What will happen now? He was so good. He always helped others. Why? Why did they have to kill Him? What He said was so wonderful. He made us feel loved and put things in our hearts that were so true. We want to do something, but what can we do? We begin to feel ashamed for not standing up for Him. Maybe there would have been a different outcome.

 

The crowd stands in silence. Jesus has died. How could this be. And, now the tears begin flowing down our cheeks. We walk with the rest of the crowd away from the cross. We feel so empty and numb. We keep looking back, hoping something will happen. We just can’t believe all of this. He has really died. The only place we know to go to is home, but we don’t feel like going there. We don’t feel like eating. We don’t feel like talking. We just can’t believe that Jesus has died. Why didn’t the Father save Him? All of this was so good and right. Is it over? Who will lead us now? All the apostles feel lost. No one seems to know what to do.

 

We don’t feel like going back to the way things were before we met Jesus. We don’t want to do anything. We keep wondering if all of this is a bad dream. He can’t be dead, could He.

 

Such must have been “the crumbled heart” feeling of those few who saw Jesus die. You and I have the complete story of the cross. We understand the reasons why He had to die. We know what happens in a few days. We know Jesus as the resurrected Savior. But for those believers who watched Him die, what a different experience it was for them.

 

Some thoughts for us:

 

First, Jesus died. He really died. We understand this Biblically and factually, but putting yourself there at the cross, would have been something hard to fathom. As we focus upon the Lord’s Supper each week, let’s not forget that our Lord died. We celebrate the resurrection, but let us not forget the sorrow of His death. I have seen some dear, dear people take their last breath. I know the emptiness at looking at a lifeless body and hoping that there would be one more breath.

 

Second, we can think that those early believers were simple and naïve in their thinking about Jesus. The Lord had said several times that He was going to die and be raised. We read those passages with certainty and that is because we are on this side of the story. They were on the other side of the story and it was hard to put together everything that Jesus had said. Things were so good, it’s hard to imagine that it would ever end, but it did.

 

Third, and, to think He did all of this for you. He did all of this for me. Jesus cared so much for you that He gave His life. The greatest sacrifice of all. He died so we could live. What greater motivation to walk with the Lord than seeing by faith His death. How quickly we would admit that we don’t deserve His death. How easily we would confess that we are not that important. But to Jesus you are. Your life was worth His death.

 

My heart crumbled when I watched you die…

 

Roger

 

10

Jump Start # 3779

Posted on March 10, 2025 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3779

 

Proverbs 28:11 “The rich man is wise in his own eyes, but the poor who has understanding sees through him.”

 

I saw three recent statistics about football players in the NFL that was interesting. The average career for a football player in the NFL is 3.5 years. That’s not very long. The average salary for an NFL player is 2.8 million a year. And, most shocking, the majority of NFL players, retire broke. You’d think with sign on bonuses, and six to eight million dollars through those 3.5 years, most football players would be set. They aren’t.

 

The study I read went on to say that the majority of football players never understood nor were taught about money. Most expected to play more than 3.5 years. And, the report declared that the majority had only one skill set, playing football. It’s all they have done since they were a kid. All through high school, and then college, it’s only been football. Most burned through the money buying expensive cars and large homes and not anticipating what life would be like after football. Careers over, broke, and not having any marketable skills, many find themselves in low paying jobs. Their dreams became a nightmare.

 

The book of Proverbs, where our passage is taken from, has much to say about money, riches, wealth, and  the attitude we need to have towards those things. Many are uncomfortable talking about money in the church building. Some go so far as to say such topics do not belong in church. However, Jesus said more about money than He did Heaven. His parables are laced with contrasts between rich and poor. And, like the broke NFL football players, many of us have never been taught about money.

 

Budgeting and money management ought to be a concern for today’s shepherds. How we handle the money in the church is as important as how we handle our personal finances. Money issues are the leading causes of divorce these days. In preparing young couples for marriage, lessons about money are a must. Without careful teaching and planning, many are on the trajectory of being future benevolent cases for the congregation. Wise teaching can help us in this area.

 

Here are some things I see:

 

First, the past generation never talked much about money. What was in the will and who got what was a secret that was not revealed until a death. It is not uncommon for a husband and wife to have different backgrounds and views about money. Some want to save every nickel. Others, want to spend a dime when they only have a nickel. And, without a plan and a budget, couples race into retirement realizing that they can’t retire or worse, they become a burden to the church because they never handled money well.

 

Second, among preachers, this is a real disaster. The horror stories are unbelievable. I’ve known preachers who died broke. They left their family destitute. Others have the grand idea of preaching until they die. But, what if health won’t allow that. Or, worse, what if brethren won’t allow that. Then what? Shepherds and preachers ought to have conversations on this topic. Amounts ought to be put away for retirement. I heard of a congregation in Texas that has invited older, retired preachers to come and be a part of their fellowship. In the process, they pledge to take care of those old preachers as long as they live, whether they preach or not. What a wonderful blessing and payback to honor those who have dedicated their lives to teaching God’s word.

 

Third, we must not be embarrassed to take such topics to the pulpit nor have classes on this. This is not only helpful and healthy, it can prevent future problems. Young people need to be taught about giving. We assume they know. They don’t. How much ought one to give? What happens when the month is longer than the paycheck? Establishing emergency funds, for both a congregation and teaching people to have their own helps when the storm clouds of troubles roll in.

 

Teaching generosity goes along with this. God treats us better than we deserve. And, as God’s people we must learn to be generous. That is a spirit that will open doors and shows people that you care.

 

Much of this begins in the home. Don’t just give your child a dollar to put in the collection plate. That doesn’t teach him anything. And, when grandma gives your child $20 for his birthday, don’t go out and buy something that costs $25. That doesn’t teach anything. Have three jars: Save, Give, Spend. Teach them to fill those jars. Patience and working up for something that is expensive is a good character quality that will help them in life.

 

There are wonderful books on this topic. Sit down with someone in the congregation that has done well financially and talk with them about how they got there. Learn and understand the principles of finance.

 

Retired broke football players. Not a good place to be.

 

Roger

 

07

Jump Start # 3778

Posted on March 7, 2025 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3778

 

Psalms 32:3 “When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.”

 

Our verse today, coming from one of David’s penitent Psalms, was likely written after he received forgiveness for the sins committed with the adultery and coverup and murder as a result of his sin with Bathsheba. Nearly a year passed with nothing from the lips and heart of David. The prophet Nathan was sent to rebuke the king. And, the broken and sorrowful David sought forgiveness from the Lord.

 

This chapter opens with the wonderful words, “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!” Indeed. Forgiveness is sweet. It is not expected, or something someone has to extend. Forgiveness is encased in love, grace and choice.

 

Within this context and reflection about forgiveness, David looks back through that dark and lonely journey. It is here where our verse is found. Before the forgiveness. Before the confrontation with the prophet. Before the tears of sorrow. David kept silent. He kept it a secret. Out of sight and out of mind didn’t work here. In David’s secret and silence, guilt was eating him alive. Our verse says, “my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.” A few verses later, he admitted, “My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.”

 

And, with this comes an important lesson for us about secret sins and guilt.

 

First, God gives us the emotion and feeling of guilt for a reason. We are not expected to move to Guilt Street, but having guilt shows that our conscience is still working. When one does wrong and never feels bad about that, a deadened conscience will not help him.

 

Guilt reminds us that we were wrong. We know it. We shouldn’t have said what we said. We shouldn’t have done what we did. If we could go back and do things over, we’d do things differently. That’s the upside of guilt. In Acts we find the expressions of a “pricked heart,” and, “cut to the quick.” Today, we’d say, “The preacher stepped on my feet in his sermon.”

 

Guilt is a miserable place to be. One hopes that no one else will find out about the wrong that he did. The guilty wants the secret to stay a secret. But, we know the Lord knows. And, as with David keeping his sin secret, when we do that, it plagues our mind and spirit. For David, his body “wasted away.” For us, we lose our appetite. We have trouble sleeping at night. We feel ashamed to pray. We don’t feel worthy to be around others worshipping God.

 

I met a young man like this several years ago. He was active, vibrant, happy and full of energy. It was hard to keep up with him. But, one day, everything seemed different. He no longer smiled. He stood in a corner and wasn’t around others. He was just off. He wasn’t himself. I noticed. We got together to talk. First, he said it was nothing. He hadn’t been feeling well. More into the conversation, he said he wasn’t getting much out of worship anymore. He didn’t like this about the church and he didn’t like that about the church. He wouldn’t look at me. He kept looking at the floor. Out of the blue I asked him, “Have you been unfaithful to your wife?” He immediately looked at me with wide eyes and the look of horror on his face. Then he broke down and cried and confessed. It was a long journey, but grace, love and forgiveness saved that marriage.

 

If guilt doesn’t lead to change, it will eat us up. Peter wept bitterly. Judas hung himself. Guilt.

 

Second, rather than dealing with the wrong and the guilt that comes with it, some try to manufacture ways to make wrong seem right. They have a ready excuse they pull out of their pockets. They point the fingers at everyone except themselves. And, through that process, guilt is suppressed, changed and wrong justified and nothing good or positive comes from any of that. Wrong will continue.

 

This is one reason why many do not want to hear sermons. They don’t want to be reminded. They don’t want to know that they need to change. They don’t want to deal with guilt. So, they dance through life, doing whatever they feel like, not giving any thought that God is wanting them to be close to Him. Many are using the expression, “I want a relationship with Jesus. I don’t want religion.” Jesus without guilt. Jesus without rules. Jesus without many expectations. Jesus that lets me do what I want to do. Jesus that is cool with me worshipping in my own way. Relationship without religion is nothing more than selfishness. It’s being ok with sin. It’s running as far away from guilt as possible. And, it results in a life that looks nothing like the Bible.

 

Third, the quicker and more honest I am about my sin to God, the better I will feel and the better my relationship with the Lord will become. He already knows. There is nothing you do that shocks God. The Lord will never say, “Wow, I didn’t know that.” He knows. Hiding our sin and keeping it secret, not only tears us up on the inside, ruins our relationship with the Lord, but the sin doesn’t go away. Sins do not just go away. There is no statute of limitations on sin. Move and the sin moves with you. Switch congregations and the sin switches with you. You can bury yourself in doing great deeds, but the sin remains. God’s justice is not a giant balance or scales. As long as there are more good than bad, we’ll be ok, some believe. That concept is based upon salvation by works, not faith and grace.

 

As one scrolls through Psalm 32, we see the refreshing and uplifting spirit of David. Forgiveness came and how glad he was. I expect he wondered why he waited so long. Why did he keep holding on to those sins? And, couldn’t the same thing be said of us? Why don’t we seek the Lord in confession? Why don’t we seek the forgiveness? Some may feel that they no longer deserve it. And, you don’t. Some may fear messing up again. And, you might. Some will think that they are not good enough. And, you are not. Forgiveness is not based upon us, but the Lord. He extends His grace to those who diligently seek Him. Be honest. Be transparent. Be humble.

 

The gift of forgiveness is a wonderful, wonderful treasure from the Lord. He shows how much He believes in you. Now, do you believe in Him?

 

Guilt or forgiveness…which will it be for you?

 

Roger

 

06

Jump Start # 3777

Posted on March 6, 2025 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 3777

 

Revelation 15:1 “Then I saw another sign in Heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.”

 

Our verse today, nearing the end of this great visionary message for the suffering saints, introduces the seven bowls of wrath which will be poured out in the next chapter. The bowls represent God’s wrath. God’s judgment is righteous and the wicked, as the text says, “They deserve it.” God was lowering the boom on the wicked who have afflicted and killed the righteous of God. The angels pouring these bowls come straight from God’s presence in the temple of the tabernacle, or we’d call it the most holy.

 

The pain suffered by these various bowls of wrath was intense. The sun would scorch them. Waters became like blood. They would gnaw their tongues because of the pain. Chapter sixteen ends with these words, “its plague was extremely severe.”

 

Reading through this, most would think how terrible all of this is. Yet, our verse, opening the chapter describes this great sign as “marvelous.” It would be terrible for those who followed the beast. It would be horrific for those who punished the saints of God. But, for God’s people, this is an answer to prayer. This is justice served. This is victory in Heaven. It is marvelous.

 

Immediately we ought to notice a few lessons here:

 

First, the world and the Lord do not see things the same way. These plagues would be devastating to the ungodly, yet to God’s people they are marvelous. But, it’s more than just this. What the world calls success, is defined in money, name brands, popularity and fame. God considers success as one who walks with Him. A poor righteous man is much more successful to the Lord than a famous rock star or high dollar athlete who ignores the Lord. The world and the Lord do not see things the same way.

 

Second, the joys of this world are nothing like the blessings of Heaven. The Revelation letter is not about how to get by here on earth. It’s not about how to make life easier, nicer or find joy here. The message over and over is about Heaven. The doors of Heaven are opened. Messages come from Heaven. Signs from Heaven. Angels from Heaven. The powerful Romans thought they had the world by the trail. They could conquer anyone. They had wealth like no one else. But, none of that lasted. Oh, we can get so caught up in today that we forget about tomorrow. The filled scheduled of now can take our eyes off of the blessings of Heaven.

 

Third, while these struggling Christians were powerless to change the destiny of a world power, God wasn’t. And, sometimes what we face is greater than we are. Cancer. Family trials and troubles. Turmoil in our hearts. We can feel overwhelmed and even defeated. Those early Christians had no defense against an oppressive government. There was little they could do. But, God can do all things. The king’s heart can be moved by God, the Scriptures tell us. God raises up kings and removes kings. God doesn’t need a fleet of chariots. God doesn’t need a vast army. The angels of God have proven that. A boy with a rock, brought down a warrior giant. God took care of Pharaoh’s mighty army without firing a shot. He enclosed water around them and that was it. God has scared armies by sounds in the night. God has opened prison doors and allowed His people to walk right past guards.

 

By ourselves, we are helpless. But, greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world, John writes. This same John, was shown terrifying dragons, beasts with multiple heads, locusts that fly out of the abyss. But, he was also shown the saints of God surrounding the throne in Heaven. He was shown the victorious saints singing the song of Moses, a victory song.

 

Fear leads to doubt. Fear feeds worry. And, fear is what can cripple our faith. I don’t know how, is answered by, God’s got this. I don’t know when is answered by, in His time. I don’t understand is answered by, “He’s got the whole world in His hands.”

 

A sign in Heaven…marvelous. It sounds like one of our hymns, “There’s a great day coming, a great day coming.” That song ends with, “There’s a sad day coming, a sad day coming.” What makes something marvelous, is which side of God are you on. What makes a day great, is which side of God are you on.

 

Marvelous…

 

Roger